The Bobster
Senior News Editor since 2004
http://nypost.com/2016/01/26/uber-driver-attacks-pregnant-womans-service-dog-cops/
Uber driver attacks pregnant woman’s service dog: cops
By Daniel Prendergast, Danielle Furfaro and Natalie Musumeci
January 26, 2016 | 6:00pm
An out-of-control Uber driver yanked a 9-months pregnant passenger’s service dog from her and slammed the pooch on a Manhattan street when he told her she couldn’t ride with the animal, cops said.
The 30-year-old Manhattan woman got into Muhammad Qayyum’s Uber car with her Silky Terrier at around 7:25 p.m. on Broadway near W. 56th Street on Jan. 21, police said.
“I will not take your dog in my car,” Qayyum, 23, told the woman, according to cops.
The woman told the driver that the pooch is her service dog, but Qayyum apparently didn’t care.
Qayyum then got out of the vehicle, opened up the rear passenger door and snatched the dog by its leash out of the woman’s lap and threw the dog to the ground, police said.
The dog suffered a dislocated hip and an injury to its right back leg, according to a criminal complaint filed in Manhattan Criminal Court.
The owner took her service dog to Blue Pearl Veterinary Partners on W. 57th where the animal underwent surgery, police said.
Qayyum was arrested on charges of aggravated cruelty to animals and harming a service animal in the second-degree.
He was released without bail and an order of protection was placed against him, the DA said.
Qayyum denied harming the pooch and claimed that the woman punched him in the face multiple times and made “racist, religiously disparaging slurs,” said an Uber spokeswoman, who noted that all Uber drivers are required to accommodate service animals.
According to the spokeswoman, Qayyum’s and the woman’s Uber accounts have been suspended pending an investigation into the matter.
“Any mistreatment of animals is abhorrent and we do not tolerate violent behavior on the platform,” Uber said in a statement.
Uber driver attacks pregnant woman’s service dog: cops
By Daniel Prendergast, Danielle Furfaro and Natalie Musumeci
January 26, 2016 | 6:00pm
An out-of-control Uber driver yanked a 9-months pregnant passenger’s service dog from her and slammed the pooch on a Manhattan street when he told her she couldn’t ride with the animal, cops said.
The 30-year-old Manhattan woman got into Muhammad Qayyum’s Uber car with her Silky Terrier at around 7:25 p.m. on Broadway near W. 56th Street on Jan. 21, police said.
“I will not take your dog in my car,” Qayyum, 23, told the woman, according to cops.
The woman told the driver that the pooch is her service dog, but Qayyum apparently didn’t care.
Qayyum then got out of the vehicle, opened up the rear passenger door and snatched the dog by its leash out of the woman’s lap and threw the dog to the ground, police said.
The dog suffered a dislocated hip and an injury to its right back leg, according to a criminal complaint filed in Manhattan Criminal Court.
The owner took her service dog to Blue Pearl Veterinary Partners on W. 57th where the animal underwent surgery, police said.
Qayyum was arrested on charges of aggravated cruelty to animals and harming a service animal in the second-degree.
He was released without bail and an order of protection was placed against him, the DA said.
Qayyum denied harming the pooch and claimed that the woman punched him in the face multiple times and made “racist, religiously disparaging slurs
,” said an Uber spokeswoman, who noted that all Uber drivers are required to accommodate service animals. According to the spokeswoman, Qayyum’s and the woman’s Uber accounts have been suspended pending an investigation into the matter.
“Any mistreatment of animals is abhorrent and we do not tolerate violent behavior on the platform,” Uber said in a statement.